


Ohio License Plates

by brothersinsync (ceoriginal)



Series: Sync's Fill-in Fic [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, M/M, There's no actual destiel, the story needs to build up still, this is sort of a "how it might have happened"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 09:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4913977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceoriginal/pseuds/brothersinsync
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean have just broken out of prison and are on the run from Henriksen.  Before hitting Joliet, Illinois, they stop in Ohio to get new license plates for Baby.  </p><p>The DMV worker will not let Dean leave and makes him perform all kinds of tests before he will give him new plates.  </p><p>Meanwhile, Sam may have found a case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ohio License Plates

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eshcaine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eshcaine/gifts).



> The prompt:  
> "eshcaine: Sync I want you to write a fic about Dean getting Baby's registration renewed and Cas is the DMV person and he makes Dean take all the tests even tho Dean doesn't need them. DMV - Castiel being a shit making Dean hang around just so he won't leave."
> 
> It kind of got away from me from there. 
> 
> Takes place in canon between "Folsom Prison Blues" and "What Is And What Should Never Be"
> 
> Thanks to betas: [supernovacharlie](archiveofourown.org/users/supernovacharlie/) and [Queen](http://queen-amidalaa.tumblr.com/)

Sam pulled over in front of Buckeye Jake's Eatery in West Alexandria, Ohio. The building looked like it could have been a two-story house and had black awnings over each window.

“Dude, I'm starving. You wanna get something to eat?” Sam asked.

“We can't stop yet. We've got to get those plates changed before Henriksen catches wind of us on some traffic cam.” Dean had been nervous the whole trip.

“Come on. That prison food was horrible." Sam looked over at Dean. "You need to eat something, and I need to look up the nearest DMV, so we have to stop anyway. I've been driving for 4 hours straight.”

“It's not even open yet.”

Just as he said it, a hand appeared in the window of the restaurant and switched on the neon 'OPEN' sign.

Sam just looked at his brother with a “see?” face.

“Fine.”

They got out of the car, and Dean slammed the door rather forcefully. He immediately regretted it and went back to pet his Baby as Sam circled the car to the diner door.

“Come on... Look, there's even a bar upstairs.”

**– 0 –**

As they waited for their food and Dean flirted with the waitress from across the room, Sam pulled out his laptop and started his research. “Ohio seems to have motor vehicle bureaus,” he said, more to himself than to Dean. “Oh, and there's a Deerfield Inn right up the road.”

Dean stopped hitting on the waitress long enough to nod absentmindedly at Sam, then turned back to her.

Sam continued talking, “Why don't we go check-in there and then you can run down the road. It's only 10 minutes away.” Sam stared at his screen, analyzing and clicking. “You just need to follow 35...” he indicated the road outside “...to 127. Should be right there.”

Dean finally gave Sam his full attention, “What are you gonna do?”

“I'll start doing some research on that thing in Joliet, Illinois. All those bodies that keep turning up drained of most of their blood?”

Sam pulled up the news article from the Joliet area and turned the laptop to Dean.

Dean read aloud, “'Third body discovered in freaky accident. Blood drained from single puncture point in the neck'.... Not vampires, then...hmmm...”

All Sam could do was shrug, the corners of his mouth turning down. He put the laptop away as the food arrived and they ate in silence for a while.

“Ohio, man? Really?” Dean threw his bacon cheese burger back onto the plate. “I mean, I get that we're kinda in the middle of nowhere, but maybe we candrive a bit more-- go back to Kansas. I don't know that Baby really wants Ohio plates.”

“ _Baby_ doesn't want Ohio plates?” Sam asked, continuing on his salad. “Dean, you're the one who wanted to get the plates changed so fast. It's a good idea, too.”

“Fine.” Dean picked his burger back up and took an angry bite. “Fine.”

**– 0 –**

The Deerfield Inn was in the middle of an open field. The lawn was well-kept but the building itself looked old and run-down. They were used to this kind of place by now, and didn't care at all that the shower drain was rusty or that the windows let in just the wrong amount of light for reading. It had beds. It had electricity. It was good enough.

They got a room at the end of the row and dropped their bags on their beds. Sam plugged his laptop in next to the table by the dirty window and tuned Dean out. Dean took this as a cue and left Sam to his work.

**– 0 –**

Dean pulled into an open spot outside of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Eaton, Ohio and got a screwdriver out of the trunk. He crouched next to the Kansas KAZ 2Y5 license plate and ran his hand over it, trying to say goodbye.

“I know, Baby. It's just a string of numbers. I know.” Dean sighed. “But it will be the first time you haven't had Kansas plates. Are you sure you're ready for that?”

Dean took a deep breath and started working on the screws. When both plates were off, he went inside. The place seemed fairly modern with digital displays along the ceiling and a robotic voice reading off the number of the next person to be helped, along with the open counter to serve them at. There were benches in rows, centered in the long room and a counter along the closest wall with pens attached by chains. The far wall housed cubicles numbered 1-14, but only five of them had people sitting behind them. Close to the door he had come in through, was a desk with a sign that read 'Check-in'. He walked up to the lady at the desk and started to speak, 

“Hi. I'm here-”

“What form do you need?” She cut him off and pointed to the stacks of different colored paper.

“Ah...new registration?”

She handed him a blue form and pointed to the pen counter. “Fill it out and then come back and get a number.”

“Couldn't I just get a number now?” He tried flashing his most winning smile, but she just pointed again.

He took the form back outside to his car and opened the glove box. Shuffling through his stack of licenses, he found one for Ohio and copied the information. Zeppelin Rules, he thought as he wrote Robert D. Plant at the top of the page, smiling to himself. Dean moved back inside and was annoyed to find that there was now a line to the check-in desk. He moved to the back of it and tapped his foot impatiently. He wished Sam had come with him and grumbled a bit, thinking about his brother happily relaxing at the motel. The line moved along slowly and finally he was at the front.

“Hi,” Dean started.

“What form do you need?” She cut him off again. She didn't seem to really look at him as she pointed to the stack, focused as she was on her computer in front of her.

He waved his blue form near her face. “I'm good. Just need a number.” He was not smiling at her this time.

He was handed a slip of paper with A142 printed on it before turning back to her computer screen, and he glanced at the digital displays.

A107.

Dean searched for a spot on the benches and luckily found one near the middle of the room.

“Now serving A108 at counter number 5.” A computerized voice called out over the speakers.

“Now serving A109 at counter number 8.”

Dean slid open his cell phone and scrolled down to “Stu” and pushed the call button. Sam's voice came on the line. “What's up?”

“Looks like it might be a while. Did you find anything about about that... situation?” Dean glanced at the man sitting next to him, but the man seemed to be busy texting and wasn't paying attention.

“No, Dean. I'll need more info when we get closer. And we'll need to take a look at the bodies. There's just not enough information in these articles. I mean, who writes “freaky accident” in a news story?” Sam was getting irritable.

“Alright, man, why don't you get some sleep. I'll be back when I'm done, and I'll bring food.”

“Yeah, I'll lie down in a bit. Don't be too long.”

Dean hung up and put his phone back in his pocket, then started humming Metallica to pass the time.

**– 0 –**

“A139 at counter number 1.”

“A140.”

“A141.”

“Now serving A142 at counter number 12.”

Dean jumped up and moved to the other side of the room glancing at the paper to remember his name. He handed over his paper to the man behind the counter distractedly and then stopped cold, breath catching in his throat. He was staring at the most intense eyes he had ever seen. 

They were like a sky spotted with cirrus clouds at dusk, with a switch to indigo gray closer to the pupil. They seemed to pull at him and he leaned in slightly.

The man stared back at him and cleared his throat. Dean started and realized he hadn't let go of the paper. He quickly released the page and stepped back. The man behind the counter stared for a second longer, then looked down to read the paper. Dean felt as if something had slammed into him as they broke eye contact, and he nearly staggered from the loss.

Pulling himself together, he glanced back at the man's down turned head. His hair was a messy brown and stuck out at odd angles at the top of his head. He wore a trench coat even though it was almost May, and he was indoors. A blue tie peeked out from the opening of the coat, but it was twisted and Dean almost reached out to straighten it before he caught himself.

“Do you have identification, Mr. Plant?” The man's voice came out in a low rumble, slowly, like he was choosing his words with great care. Dean felt it like a bass drum shaking his soul. “Mr. Plant?”

“Oh, right.” Dean pulled out his wallet and held it away from the man as he fished for the correct fake ID. Holding it out to the man, he composed himself. He just needed to get a new plate and get back to Sam.

“Well, Mr. Plant. It seems that you have filled out the form correctly.”

“Call me Dean.” He flashed that same smile he had tried using earlier. It didn't seem to have an effect here either, however. Was everyone in this place immune to his charm? The man tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Your name is Robert, Sir.”

Crap. Now he understood the confused look on the man's face. How had he let his guard down? False identities were not exactly new to him. Luckily, he always had a back up plan.

“I go by my middle name.”

The man looked at the paper again, then looked up at Dean.

“Hello, Dean.”

“Hi. And you are?”

“Castiel. Castiel Novak.”

They stared at each other for a minute more before Castiel spoke.

“Dean...you have filled this out correctly, but there are still a few things I'll need from you in order for you to receive new license plates for your--” he glanced down at the paper “--Chevrolet Impala.”

“Ok,” Dean said hesitantly. “Like what?”

“Well, if you would just look here, I have to check your eye sight.” He pointed to a small box on the counter that looked like a Viewmaster. Dean sighed, but leaned forward. He had no problem with the dot on the picnic table or the direction of the ‘E’. Castiel typed something into the computer sitting next to him.

“Listen, Cas --I'm gonna call you Cas-- I have to get back. So if we could hurry this up...”

“Of course, Dean.” Castiel looked up from the computer and stared at Dean for a minute. Those eyes caught Dean's, not allowing him to pull away. “There are just a few more things,” he said finally.

“Like what?” Dean asked.

“Well, I will need the old license plates...” Castiel pointed to the Kansas plates still under Dean's arm.

“Oh...” Dean held the plates out in front of him, staring at them for a while and sighing. Then, reluctantly, he passed them over to Cas.

“I just need to run to the back to grab you some new license plates.” Castiel left the area and Dean felt like a bath tub emptying the last of its water. He physically stumbled into the desk in front of him.

Dean nervously looked around the room, but no one else was even glancing his way. Most of the heads in the room were bent over cell phones. In fact, he noticed that every head was turned down. Even as new numbers were called, people shuffled to the counter and completed their business without looking up from their devices. Dean was suddenly glad he had a slide phone and stayed away from the absorption of new technology.

Castiel returned to the counter and placed the metal plates on the desk between them. They were still on Cas' side, so Dean didn't reach for them, but he did move his hands to rest on the counter. As Castiel typed more lines on his computer, Dean turned his head to read the new number: CNK 80Q3.

Huh, Castiel Novak, Dean thought, wondering if the man had picked this plate number on purpose.

“I think we are just about done here, Dean.” Castiel finally turned from his computer and picked up the plates again. Dean reached for them now, but Cas did not offer them, instead holding them tight to his chest. “I will walk you to your vehicle for the final road test.”

“What?” Dean jolted, but Castiel was already moving down the walkway behind the cubicles to the opening and rounded the corner into the main room. Dean stood motionless as Castiel walked towards him. He was prepared to argue that he had wasted enough time in the building, but Cas walked right by him, past the 'check in' desk, and out the door. After a second, Dean followed, angrily shoving open the glass doors to the building. He found the trench coated man crouched by the front of his car, hand loosening the screws that Dean hadn't tightened all that much. Still sour from being ignored, Dean stormed up to his car.

“Look, you son of a bitch, stop touching my Baby. I've never had to take a road test before just to get new plates. Just flyon back inside.”

Castiel's hands slowed as he tightened the screws of the newly attached plate. Softly, he said, “You should show me some respect.” Now, Castiel stood and turned to face Dean, his face dark. The man's eyes seemed to glow with power, which was a trick of the light, but still impressive. “I gave you these plates. I can take them back again.”

Dean threw up his hands in a placating gesture.

“Now,” Cas said, in that deep voice, “get me a screwdriver.”

**– 0 –**

Screwdriver in hand, Castiel continued working on the front as Dean moved to affix the rear plate, while grumbling. Finally, Dean climbed into the driver's seat and waited for Castiel. He was tempted to drive off just as the man reached for the door handle and was chuckling at the image in his head when Cas sat beside him and placed some paperwork in the glove box.

“What is it, Dean?”

“Nothing,” Dean said, all humor suddenly gone from his face. “What's the plan, Cas?”

“Plan?” Castiel tilted his head as his eyebrows knitted together.

“For the road test? Is there a cop or something that's gonna join us?” Dean tried to ask this casually, knowing the last thing he needed was a police officer in his car with him.

“Oh! No. I have been...certified to perform the test myself.” Dean visibly relaxed. Cas squinted his eyes as if thinking about something, “Take a left out of the parking lot.”

They drove together for the next half hour, Cas directing, Dean complying, even if he was made to parallel park far too many times. The roads were mostly empty, and Castiel kept asking Dean questions about himself. Some he answered half truthfully, but mostly he redirected the questions and Cas ended up talking about himself. As he spoke about his sister and where he grew up there were no specifics to his stories. Every answer the man gave was slow and calculated. When they passed a sign for Eaton Country Club for the third time, Dean's phone started ringing, and he dug it out of his pocket.

“I hope you are going to pull over before answering that.” Castiel gave Dean a warning look. Dean grudgingly pulled off the road, but defiantly answered the call from 'Stu' before completely stopping.

“What's up, Buttercup?” Dean asked his brother, their code for 'I'm not alone, but it's nothing to worry about.'

“What the hell is taking so long?” Sam asked. “It better not be a girl.”

Dean glanced at his passenger before stepping out of the car, slamming the door in order to talk to Sam more privately. “This guy is making me take a road test to get new plates. We've been driving around in circles. It's ridiculous.”

“Well, you need to hurry it up. There's something weird going on around here.”

Dean walked around the car and moved into the tree line,lowering his voice. “What is it?”

“I walked to the office looking for a vending machine, but the clerk didn't even look up when I asked about it. He was bent over his cell phone just staring at some video. He didn't even notice when I leaned over his shoulder to look at it, and it looked like an iPhone. But get this – it's not scheduled for release to the public until June 29th.”

“What the hell is an eye phone?”

“It's a new touchscreen only cell phone. I caught wind of a prototype last autumn, and I've been following it's development. I was thinking about getting one...”

Dean listened to Sam excitedly ramble on about 'Purple 2' and 'the future of technology' and 'secret developments' before finally cutting him off,

“Sam- that's fine. Back to the clerk.”

“Right. I walked back to the room, and everyone, Dean, everyone is glued to an iPhone. Even people who had waved to me on the trip to the office. Lost in that same video. I'm looking out the window now, Dean. The people out there are just standing there.”

“I noticed it, too, at the DMV. I didn't look at the screens though. I was...distracted.”

“Brooding over your Kansas plates still?” Sam laughed. “See if you can ditch this guy and get back here.”

“Will do. And dig up what you can on the ear phone.”

“It's iPhone, Dean”

“Yeah, yeah, iPhone, whatever.” He hung up, turning back to the car before jumping a mile , his heart beating hard in his chest. Cas had come up behind him and was now so close that their noses almost touched. “What the hell, Cas? Ever heard of personal space?”

Castiel backed off a little, but continued to stare into Dean's eyes. “What was that about an iPhone?”

“Or private conversations?”

Finally, Castiel's eyes fell away. “Of course. I'm sorry. It's just that my sister, Hannah, was just talking about the new phone she received in the mail, and now it seems everyone else is talking about it too.”

“That's great, Cas, but look-- I need to get back to work with my...partner, so I'm gonna need you to hurry up with this whole test thing.”

“The test is nearly complete,” Castiel said. “Just a few more left hand turns and maybe parallel park one more time-”

Dean sighed and reached into his back pocket.

“Normally I don't do this because I'm undercover, but I feel like I can trust you to keep my secret. And I'll have to kill you if you don't...” Dean chuckled menacingly.

Opening it first towards himself to confirm which one it was, he quickly flashed Castiel his US Marshal badge before putting it away.

“This is a state of emergency, so stop the test. Now.”

Castiel stood frozen for a second before seeming to realize me should react to that statement. Castiel ran back to the car and pulled out the papers he had stashed in the glove box earlier. “Don't arrest me. I finished the paperwork before we left and I clocked out. I just wanted an excuse to be in your company, and I really like your car.” He shoved the papers at Dean and stepped back.

Dean was stunned. Why would this guy want to hang out with him? He was nothing special. Sure, his Baby was awesome, but that didn't translate to him. He expected the man was lying about that part. He couldn't think of a response. Every time their eyes had met today, his mind had seemed to go blank. He closed his eyes and slowly pushed past Castiel, shaking his head. Not turning around, he said, “I'm not going to arrest you, but we're done here. And you're buying me a tank of gas.” Dean didn't wait for the response and climbed into his Impala. When Castiel finally climbed back in, he didn't turn to look at Dean. “Where can I drop you off?”

Cas spoke to the dashboard. “At Hannah's. She dropped me off this morning.”

**– 0 –**

A full tank of gas and an awkward car ride later, Dean pulled up in front of Hannah's house. “There's my car,” Cas said, pointing at the tan Cadillac car in the driveway. He paused with his hand on the door handle.

“I am sorry about that. My people skills are rusty, but maybe you could let me try again.” He pulled out his wallet and placed his business card on the seat as he got out of the car. “That's my cell number, Marshal,” he said, but Dean wanted to stay mad, so he kept a straight face and didn't look over at Cas as the door shut.

As Castiel walked up the driveway to his sister's house, Dean peeled out of the area, and down the street.

**– 0 –**

Sam was sitting in the same place Dean had left him and if not for the earlier phone call, he wouldn't have known that his brother had moved at all.

“Anything?” Dean called, tossing a bag of tacos in Sam's direction before tugging off his jacket and throwing it on the bed.

Sam caught the bag and placed it next to him on the table, absentmindedly. “Oh. There's all kinds of news articles on this new phone, but they all seem to think it won't be ready on time for the release. They think Cingular--well, ATT-- is crazy for signing a contract with them. I mean, the technology is there, but the technicians are practically living in the lab to get this thing done. And the stuff they are doing is so secret, they have the techs split into hardware and software teams and don't allow them to interact.”

Again, Dean interrupted his excited brother, “Sam, is there anything relevant to the case?”

“Oh,” Sam had the grace to blush, “Well, the adults are useless because they are seemingly non-responsive, but the kids are organizing a bonfire near Catfish Cove Lake because, well, they can. There's no one around telling them not to. This chat room” --he indicated his laptop-- “is full of kids talking about how their parents stopped talking to them.”

“All of them?”

“There's plenty of kids worried, too. But many of them are saying to just figure it out in the morning.”

“When the cat's away, huh?” Dean said.

“I looks like the fire is set for 8 tonight.”

“Sammy? Are you in a chat room pretending to be a child?”

Sam looked embarrassed, “Teenager...”

Dean chuckled and moved into the bathroom, “Ok, fine. We'll go talk to some kids before they set themselves on fire,” he called before shutting the door.

**– 0 –**

The engine revved as it pulled up to the fire, and many of the kids took off running. A few played it cool, hiding their solo cups and beer bottles behind their legs nonchalantly. Dean and Sam stepped out of the Impala and slammed the doors at the same time. Dean sauntered over to one of the coolers and grabbed two bottles of PBR. Handing one to Sam, they sat down on either side of one of the remaining kids and started to drink in silence. The kid between Sam and Dean finally looked up at Dean, glaring at him suspiciously

“What's your name, kid?” Dean asked, taking a sip of his beer.

“Um... Bob.”

“Ok...Bob,” Sam said, glancing at Dean with a skeptical look.

“Bob, what are you doing out here on a school night?” Dean picked up.

“Shouldn't you be home studying?” Sam asked.

“I mean, unless you're not in school anymore,” Dean said.

“Maybe he dropped out,” Sam said.

The kid looked back and forth between them as they fired questions at him, one after the other, from both sides.

“Why would any set of parents allow their kid to drop out at such a young age?” asked Dean.

“He's got so much potential,” said Sam.

“Unless he doesn't have parents,” said Dean

“Oh, how sad,” said Sam

“But he probably does,” said Dean.

“Probably,” said Sam.

“Only they probably don't love him,” said Dean.

“That's why they let him drink on a school night. They don't care about his future.” said Sam.

The kid couldn't take it anymore and shouted, “They do care!”

“Oh listen to this,” said Sam. “they do care.”

“Then he's doing this behind their backs,” said Dean.

“Oh, you're right,” said Sam. “So he doesn't care about them.”

“You don't know anything!” the kid shouted.

Dean looked at Sam over the Bob's head, a pleased smile on his lips.

“They do care about me and I care about them, but...” Bob trailed off.

Sam and Dean said nothing. Waiting usually got people to talk.

Finally, Bob spoke, “Look, there's something weird going on here. And my dad would probably just say 'Rattenfänger' but that's his excuse for not letting me do anything.”

“Rattenfanger?” Sam asked.

Before Bob could say anything else, another one of the kids interrupted him from across the fire pit.

“Why are you talking to them? They just want to shut us down. Think they're being clever about it too.”

Bob paled under the other boy's glare and stopped talking to the brothers. No amount of questioning would get any of the other children to offer anything other than childish insults. Finally the brothers gave up and walk back to the car.

“You know what? Drop me at the library. I’ll see what I can dig up.”

Dean nodded, turning the car towards the center of town. “I'll stop by the police station and see if they found us yet. Always wanted to sneak around a police station.”

Sam raised his brow and turned out the window in thought.

**– 0 –**

Dean watched his brother walk up the steps (past a few people sitting on the steps staring at their phones) and pull open the door to the librarybefore driving up the street and parking at the police station. He had never felt comfortable parking so close to a cop car, but he figured today would be the day to do it.

He passed an idling cruiser, the officer inside staring at his phone probably waiting for his partner. Pulling open the front door, Dean was hit with a wave of stale air. He surveyed the room looking for any signs of movement before pushing through the swinging half doors separating the lobby from the giant room beyond filled with desks. He tried not to think of himself as a cowboy whenever he went through doors like that but he usually failed.

Judging by the open boxes next to the few officers in the room, the phones had been delivered to places of work too, not just homes. And from the limited number of police in the station, Dean guessed that a few of the officers never made it into work this evening. He glanced at the bulletin board as he passed through the main room.

Notices for available details, policies, advertizements for next week's cookie fundraiser.

Dean stopped.

In a sections of newspaper clippings he was a photo of Bob with the caption, “Brandon White out eats his father, police chief Brian White, in pie eating contest.”

“Huh, that kid's alright,” Dean said. He looked at a few more boards, walking passed the frozen officers until he came to the desk he was looking for. Sitting in front of the dispatch computer he pulled up recent arrest records and found normal incidents for a town this small. A shoplifting here, drunk and disorderly there. Nothing stood out.

Next he pulled up his own record. The system wouldn't let him edit anything from this terminal but he was able to view it. Henriksen had either lost his trail or he was just keeping it off the books, but Dean breathed a sigh of relief. Small towns like this would not have heard of Sam and him, and unless they did something ambitious, they would be safe laying low. He was right to change the plates though as they were listed in BOLO section.

Dean moved into the Brian White' office where he found a locked drawer. A huge grin came over his face as he pulled out his lock picks. He chuckled to himself as the lock clicked open. “Too easy,” he said, pulling the draw open.

Inside was an old wooden box also with a lock on it.

“It's like Christmas,” Dean said picking up his lock pick again. When his phone went off with a text alert, he almost fell out of the chair in alarm. Digging the phone out of his pocket he read the text from Sam.

*ALL SET*

– 0 –

Sam ran his fingers through his hair as he climbed back into the idling Impala. Dean waited for Sam to speak as he pulled back into the road, the wooden box still locked in the back seat. The silence held as Sam sorted through the papers he had printed. Finally, Dean reached over and smacked his brother's arm.

“Sam. Come on.”

“Just give me a second.”

Dean huffed and waited for Sam to settle.

“Ok,” Sam said finally, “I think I know what it is.”

“And?” Dean prompted.

“The Pied Piper,” said Sam.

“I'm sorry. Did you say the Pied Piper? As in, lead all the rats out of Germany, killed all the kids, Pied Piper?”

“Sure,” said Sam, flipping to the next page, “Only he didn't kill all the kids.”

“Apparently,” said Dean.

“We need someone with an iPhone,” Sam said.

“I've got just the person.” Dean pulled a business card out of his wallet. It read:

Castiel Novak

Motor Vehicle Bureau Specialist

(937) 326-3827

Dean laughed as he dialed the number. Specialist? They would put anything on a card to make it look more official. After three rings, he heard Castiel answer with a deep 'Hello?'

“Cas? Hey, it's Dean.”

“Oh, hello, Marshal. What can I help you with?”

Dean thought the man seemed a little agitated as he clipped his words short. He had thought the man would be a little relieved to hear from him as just hours ago he was reluctant to get out of the car.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing, I-” Cas started, but Dean stopped him.

“Cas...”

Castiel sighed. “It's Hannah. She won't move. Hasn't moved since you dropped me off, and I don't know what's wrong with her.”

“Tell me, Cas. Does she have her iPhone with her?”

“Yeah, she's staring at some video. I don't understand. I tried taking it from her, but she's got a death grip on it. Marshal...”

“I told you to call me Dean.”

“Dean...help. Please?”

“We'll be right over.”

Dean hung up the phone and turned to Sam who was raising a quizzical eyebrow.

“Cas?” Sam asked.

“The DMV guy. He told me his sister had an iPhone.” Dean shrugged. “Let's go.”

**– 0 –**

As Dean pulled into the driveway behind the Cadillac, Castiel came out of the side door and down the steps to meet them, back lit by the spotlight above the doorway giving him a halo.

“Still no change,” said Castiel nervously as Dean climbed out of his shiny black Impala to stand next to him. Sam came around the car to join them towering over both men.

“Sam. This is Castiel,” Dean said, gesturing at the smaller man who was staring up at Sam.

“Cas, this is my partner, Sam Page.”

“So,” Sam said, “Any ideas as to what is happening?”

Castiel shook his head. “I made some phone calls out of town, but no one seems to be having any issues like this.” Cas held up a hand to stop questions, “Yes, on my own phone.”

Dean shifted his weight as he ran through the information they had gathered so far. Local occurrences... Only the adults seemed to be affected; they had seen kids playing alone at the park near the school as they drove through town.

“I wonder what the age cut off is,” Sam said,  “Maybe we could input all this data into a program. I'll bet Ash would love- wait...” Sam stopped and held up his hand for silence, “Do you hear that?”

They all stood and listened. In the silence, they heard the muffled sound of a baby crying. Dean and Sam both started for the house next door, which seemed to be the origin of the sound just as Castiel said, “That's the new baby at the Lafayette's. She's about 6 months old...”

He followed them to the front door, which Sam was knocking on. After a moment, Dean caught his brother's eye. Sam nodded, acknowledging the unsaid plan. “Hey, Castiel. Is there a side door we could try?”

“Actually, I have a key. Sometimes, I feed their cat.” He started down the steps, the wail of the child still piercing the air, “I'll run and grab it.”

As soon as Castiel turned away, Sam pulled a lock-picking set out of his jacket and handed it to Dean. In seconds, Dean had the door open and was slowly walking through a large, well-furnished living room. He heard Sam shut the door behind him as he peeked around a corner into an office. A stout woman was sitting behind a desk with a large computer screen, staring at a small phone in her hands.

“Sam,” he whispering, gesturing for Sam to join him as he entered the room,  “Same as the others.” He moved over to her, waving his hand in front of the woman's face, “No reactions.”

Sam attempted to take the phone from the woman's hand, but she seemed to be unwilling to let go. Sam shrugged and motioned for Dean to keep looking. Together they walked along a central hallway, the crying getting louder as they went. The next room they passed held a young girl, maybe 15 years old, who was lying on her stomach in bed and staring at her own iPhone. The brothers performed the same, very scientific process of pulling at the phone and waving before giving up.

A large gray cat circled around Sam's feet and then made a beeline for Dean.

Dean backed up as fast as he could, then hit the corner of the bed and fell to the floor. The cat took the opportunity to jump on his chest and lie down before Dean was able shove it off and scramble away. Sneezing, he climbed to his feet, ignoring Sam laughing his head off in the doorway. He grabbed a tissue from a box on the night stand and glared at his brother before unceremoniously blowing his nose.

Sam unsuccessfully attempted to stifle his chuckles before speaking. “This is the youngest person we've seen stuck like this,” he said with a lingering smile. “Either it's spreading or selective.”

“Stuck. Yeah. Like they're enthralled. I just wish we knew how they were being chosen.” Dean moved over to Sam and smacked him on the shoulder, which only made him smile more. “At least we know the baby is not affected-- crap...the baby.”

“The baby? Crap.”

As they had been talking, the crying had stopped.

Dean heard the back door slam and he called out for Cas, but got no answer. He started running to the back door, knowing Sam would follow. They passed through an empty kitchen, through a screened-in porch and finally, into a large back yard surrounded by a tall wooden fence. An old rusty swing set and an above ground pool filled the otherwise empty yard.

Sam pointed to a door in the fence still swinging and took off running around Dean.

Bolting through the door after his brother, Dean saw in the darkness, a dark haired Latina woman frantically strapping an infant into the back seat of a small foreign car some distance away. She turned when she saw them running for her and jumped into the front seat, speeding off just as Sam with his long legs, was able to reach her. His hand slammed into the trunk before it rushed away from his hand.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean yelled, catching up with his brother and slowing to a stop, out of breath.

“What the hell, Dean?” Sam said. “A baby snatcher?”

Dean shrugged and stared walking through the trees behind Hannah's unfenced back yard. “Did you get the plate number?”

“Yeah,” Sam answered, following. “Maybe we can run it at the police station.”

“Nah, call Ash. It'll be faster. And we'll get more information.” Dean left Sam in the yard to make the phone call as he walked up the steps to Hannah's door.

He opened the screen door, knocking and yelling a hello as he walked into the small kitchen. Castiel came into the room exasperated, throwing his hands up. “I don't know where she put it. It's not where it normally is and it's not like I can ask her....” Cas sighed. “Just one more thing to go wrong today.”

Dean sympathized with the man. It was a weird day for everyone. He moved across the room and placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder, reveling in the feel of the muscle under his shirt. “Don't worry about it. The door was open.”

“Oh, thank god.” Castiel visibly relaxed, hunching slightly under Dean's hand. “How's the baby?”

“Let my partner worry about the baby.”

Castiel caught Dean's gaze and stared at him with interest, his eyes searching. Dean tried to comfort Cas, rubbing his shoulder slightly. Dean felt he was holding him up, offering his strength. Cas' breathing slowed, along with the rest of the world.

He wasn't sure how long they stood there, but Dean jumped when he heard the screen door slam.

“I talked to Ash and...” Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother as Dean shifted awkwardly away from Cas, furrowing his brow at his brother and subtly shaking his head. Sam quickly glared at his brother, but continued, “Anyway, Ash said to give his 42 minutes. He'll call us back.

“42 minutes?” Cas asked.

“He's very specific about these things,” Dean offered, shrugging. “Hannah?” Dean pointed questioningly at the door from the kitchen.

“Yes. She's in here.” Castiel lead the way through a small foyer to the living room. Sitting on a large sofa which took up most of the room, was a small woman with long brown hair and a soft, welcoming face. She had the dreaded phone in one hand, the fingers of the other, marking her place at a line of text in a small book on the cushion next to her. Sam pull the book from under her hand as Dean squatted down and moved the hair out of her face with one hand, placing it behind her ear. He could see she had the same striking eyes as Cas even as she stared down.

“It's an instruction manual.” Sam leafed through the small book as he sat down next to Hannah.

Castiel fidgeted behind Dean. “Is she all right?” He knelt down next to Dean and reached out to Hannah, running his fingers down her cheek. Dean found it hard to concentrate with Cas so close to him. “I mean, it feels like she's breathing. And her heart's beating.”

Dean turned slightly and grabbed Castiel's arms, bringing them both to a standing position. He backed Castiel out of the room and into the kitchen, placing him in a chair and lowering himself into the one next to Cas.

“Hey, man. It's ok. We'll figure it out. Why don't you tell me everything you can about these phones.”

Castiel took a deep breath before speaking. His fingers fidgeting even as he looked resolutely at Dean. “The phone came two days ago. Hannah called me very excited because the letter said she had won it. Some early trial thing.”

“Do you have the letter?”

“Yeah, I think it's over here.” Castiel made to get up.

“Not now. Finish the story.” Dean placed his hand over Castiel's and Cas settled back into the chair.

“Ok, she-- ah-- she drove me to work today, so she could borrow the car...told me she was gonna try and figure out how to use the new phone. Then, I got back and she was on the couch.” Castiel gave a shy smile. “I guess it's a good thing I hijacked your ride or I might not have gotten home.”

Dean chuckled under his breath.

“Does Hannah have a computer?” Sam called, walking into the room, face still buried in the manual. Dean quickly removed his hand from on top of Castiel's, standing and almost knocking over his chair. Sam looked up at the sound but then focused on Castiel without reacting to Dean's sudden panic.

“Sure, Marshal. In the den.” He pointed across the foyer to a closed door. “There's no password.”

Castiel shifted nervously, wanting to help but wanting to give them their privacy.

“Why don't I make us some ham sandwiches? Hannah goes to this little farmer's market. One guy's from Normandy and he grows the best lettuce and tomato and the ham is local too. They comfort the pig before they slaughter it, which I think is actually quite a nice thing to do....”

Sam and Dean left Castieltalking into the fridge as they crossed to the den. Closing the door behind him, Dean turned to his brother. “What are ya thinking?”

“Well this book seems like it comes from Apple, but I just need to see if there are any connections to the Pied Piper somehow...” Sam handed Dean the book open to a page showing the features of the phone, before sitting in front of the computer and shaking the mouse.

Dean moved to stand behind Sam as the computer woke up. He stared at the pictures. “A bitten apple?” Sam shot him a 'you're an idiot' look over his shoulder.

“That's the Apple logo.”

Dean turned to the next page and back a few times before he lost interest, placing the manual down on the desk.

Sam muttered something about how 'no one uses Bing' before opening his trusty Web Search page.

“You said this is a prototype or something right?” Dean picked up a glass paper weight from the desk and played with it, passing it back and forth between his hands. “Maybe they just got it done early but got something wrong. I heard of companies being able to imbed code under video to make you want to buy their product.”

Sam diligently ignored Dean as he ran through a few searches before finding something useful. It was a web page for the town of Hameln, Germany.

“Dean, look at this.” Sam read aloud as Dean leaned over his shoulder. “The Mayor was dumb, and the Council stood; As if they were changed into blocks of wood; Unable to move a step, or cry; To the children merrily skipping by; And could only follow with the eye; That joyous crowd at the Piper's back....The friggin' Pied Piper, Dean.”

“Yeah, but I thought he ensnared rats.”

“Well, the rat part was added years later. The Pied Piper Of Hamelin was written by Robert Browning in...1849, which was 600 years after the supposed event.” Sam clicked around the website, reading in silence.

“The earliest record of the town include an entry from 1384, which states, 'It is 100 years since our children left.' This is 1248 AD. The whole thing could have been a plague.”

“That doesn't explain why the guy is here.” Dean furrowed his brow and tried to take the mouse from Sam but got his hand slapped away.

Sam clicked a few more links. “This site is mostly a tourist thing. Let me grab my papers from the library.” Sam was unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

“Sure, Sammy.” Dean loved when his brother got all nerdy about research. He then remembered the box in his back seat. “Oh. I might have found something too.”

“Yeah?” Sam asked distractedly. “What did you find?”

“A locked wooden box in the police chief desk. Turns out that's Brandon's dad. ”

“Sorry...Brandon?”

“Bob... the kid.”

“Ah.” Sam said. “How do you know it's not just birth certificates?”

“Well, I don't...but it looked more like a warded box. No symbols I have ever seen.” Dean said. “But, look, if it's just birth certificates, I'll just go put it back.”

“No you won't.” Sam gave his brother a skeptical look.

Dean shrugged with a smile. “I might.”

There was a knock at the door before Castiel pocked his head in. “Marshals? Are you hungry?”

Sam laughed. “Dean's always hungry.”

Dean smacked Sam's shoulder before following Castiel back to the kitchen.

**– 0 –**

Sam had finished half of a sandwich before his phone rang, and he moved back to the den to talk to Ash. Dean was working on his second sandwich, and Castiel was running the water over dishes but had not yet reached for the sponge. He was staring at the stream of water as it splashed into the sink.

“Cas, man, it's ok.” Dean and got up to stand by Castiel. When Castiel didn't look over at him, Dean reached over and turned off the water. Castiel came out of his fugue and turned to look at Dean. He tilted his head and looked confused for a second before smiling softly and nodding. Dean reached out and pulled the other man into a hug. He wasn't sure why he had done it, but he smiled as Castiel relaxed into his arms. It seem like the right thing to do. Dean was even ok with the fact that Castiel didn't actually reach his arms up to return the hug, almost like he had never received a hug before and didn't know what to do.

After a few minutes standing like this, just listening to each others hearts, Dean released Castiel and held him at arms length. “Let's go see what Sam has found out.”

Castiel followed Dean into the den as Sam was finishing his conversation with Ash, a pen in one hand, writing on a pad of paper on the desk.

“Ok, let me know what you find.” Sam hung up, ripping the top page from the stack and handing it to Dean. “Car's registered to nurse. Laurana Salinas. I got the address.” Just like that Sam and Dean were heading for the door. They had done this a millions times. Once they had the information, they moved. They didn't need to talk, working in sync with each other. Castiel moved with them to the back doorway and watch the Impala pull away into the night.

**– 0 –**

Dean stopped the car a block or so from the house they were looking for. Sam looked at the map one last time before joining Dean at the trunk. Silently, they gathered supplies, slipping guns into boots and pant waistbands, grabbing flasks of holy water, silver knives, wooden stakes, and lastly, grabbing their main handguns. Dean looked to Sam, who gave a nod and slammed the trunk.

Moving quickly on light feet, they made their way to the address Ash had given them. The sprinted the last few yards to the side of the house and flattened themselves underneath the window. Already they knew they were in the right place because they could hear muffled crying coming from more than one baby, the car they had seen earlier parked in the driveway.

Sam moved to the back door and peered in the kitchen window. His eyes widened, and he moved back to allow Dean to take his place. Dean saw that the kitchen table had been shoved against the wall and the room was filled with play pens and cribs. Each one held three or four children of different ages. The oldest ones were having trouble standing and fell if they let go of the railing. Through the kitchen Dean could see a television playing a children's show with flashing numbers and letters. Older children of about 3 or 4 were all sitting in front of the TV, pointing and yelling.

Dean looked back at Sam. Sam shrugged and pulled out his lock pick. Taking care to at least not be louder than the crying and staying out of the line of sight of the hallway, Sam opened the door and pulled the gun from his waistband, holding it at the low ready. Dean followed suit and pulled the door shut.

The older children didn't seem to care that they were in the house. A few looked at them when the brothers entered the room, their guns hidden under their coats, but turned back to the TV. After searching the rooms, they heard a noise coming from the basement. The doorway was blocked by a child gate, but Sam and Dean were able to climb over it to the first step without too much trouble.

They found her in the laundry room fussing with the washing machine, kicking it a few times before it started. Finally she turned and saw them standing in the doorway, guns drawn and glaring at her, and started crying. She slumped to the floor and held her hands out in surrender.

  
“No, no, please. Take me. Leave the others. Please. They're just children, please.” She then transitioned into Spanish, leaving Dean feeling like he should have paid more attention in school because some of the words sounded familiar. Sam threw a confused glance Dean's way and put away his gun. Dean lowered his, but wasn't about to disarm himself over a few tears. Sam knelt cautiously near the woman and reached in his back pocket for the Marshal badge.

“Miss Salinas? Shhh. Calm down. We're not going to hurt you,” Sam said soothingly. He slowly offered up his badge. “I'm Marshal Page. This is my partner, Marshal Plant.” He indicated Dean with his head. “We just want to talk about the children.”

He held out the badge until the woman calmed down enough to take it from him. She scrutinized it as she wiped her eyes of tears. “You're not... you're US Marshals?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Sam said. “And we'd like to know what's going on around here.”

The woman slowly stood up, slightly relieved, and leaned against the humming dryer. “I- I...you won't believe me.”

“Try us,” Dean said. She looked to him for the first time. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Ok...well...there's something wrong with everyone. It's like they're stuck...frozen. But if everyone's frozen, who's taking care of the babies? So, I've been going through hospital records and seeing where the kids live and kind of baby sitting. Jonathan...ah...Jonathan Boyd is out right now bringing in two more we found.” She shifted uncomfortably. “We…we took supplies from the local Walmart. I mean, we left money on the counter- it probably wasn’t enough, but I don’t have much…” She trailed off and looked between the brothers.

“So let me get this straight,” Dean said, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You’re stealing children and supplies because everyone is enthralled. And you’re not affected, why?”

“Well, I pulled a double shift at the hospital. Me and Jonathan both. On our second shift, people started to bring in boxes with this, like, new phone they won. By the end of the shift most people were not moving and just staring at the phones. I figured it was a good idea to avoid the box and threw one out that was on my steps. There’s a handful of others working the hospital like a war zone med center, but it doesn’t look good there.” She had started crying and Sam moved to place an arm around her shoulder. “We can’t save everyone. People are going to die. But I can try and save the babies.”

“Why did you run from us earlier?”

“I though you had caused all this. I didn’t know you were Marshals, I swear. I mean, the only other adults freely moving around the town?”

“Ok. Why don’t we get you back upstairs to those kids. We can talk more up there.”

**– 0 –**

When Jonathan had come home, Sam had gone to the car to help him bring in the children. “Mike White and Sasha Wittleson.” Jonathan introduced the two new children to the Winchesters. They stayed long enough to be sure that Laurana and Jonathan had the situation under control and made their excuses to leave to fix the issue. They drove almost the whole way to the motel, lost in thought.

“This isn’t a big town, Dean,” Sam said. “Even so, the people at the hospital won’t keep up forever. Plus there’s going to be people having heart attacks they might not even react to.”

“I know.” Dean looked at his watch reading just after 2am. “We’re not getting any sleep tonight.”

**– 0 –**

Dean sat at the small table and pulled the wooden box closer. He rubbed his hands together in delight before throwing his arms out as if trying to jerk his sleeves into place even though he had long since removed all his long sleeved layers and was just in a black t-shirt. His smile turned sour as Sam sat in the chair next to him and pulled the box over.

“Come on, man.”

Sam studied the symbols on the box, tilting it away from him. “Dean, we shouldn't just open the box without at least making sure it's not cursed.”

Dean crossed his arms and sat with a sour look on his face and Sam pulled his laptop over and opened his Web Search.

Twenty minutes later, after Sam had not found any obvious matches for the symbols, Dean decided to just go for it.

“Go outside if you're scared.” And then it was Sam's turn to sit cross-armed.

The lock opened easily enough and nothing jumped out at him when he cracked the lid so Dean called it a win and opened it the rest of the way. Inside was a small jar of clear liquid and a stack of papers. Sam reached over and pulled out the papers spreading them over the table as Dean pulled the jar and twisted off the lid. The liquid had no odor, so Dean pulled away from it and swirled it around in the jar.

“Some type of oil?” Dean shrugged and put the jar on the table replacing the lid. “What have you got, Sam?” He picked up a few of the pages furthest from Sam.

Sam held up a news paper clipping and read it aloud. “ 'April 14th, 1935. Daylight Turned Into Inky Blackness as Duster Hits.' That's from a Beaver Oklahoma newspaper.”

He picked up another. This one more of a handwritten journal entry. “ 'On May 26, 1863, Nevada MO, burned to the ground. We ran. Displaced again.' It's signed 'H. White.' ”

Dean picked up another handwritten piece of paper with a few lines in Latin written on it.

Banishment:

_Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco_

_Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco_

_Aborro te ut_

_Angelum omnium obsequendum_

_Domine expuet_

_Domine expuet_

_Deum adempiremus veritas_

_Audi Nos._

“What is this?” Dean asked his brother. “An exorcism?”

Sam took the paper from him and studied it. “Not one I've ever seen.”

Sam picked up a few more pages before realization dawned on his face. Dean waited as Sam arranged the paper on the table.

“I know what this is,” Sam started. “It looks like this Pied Piper creature has been following this one family around since 1248. In...ah...” – he pointed to one of the older looking pages – “...1287 they figured out how to banish it using this holy oil, 'laid in a circle and then lit on fire with the creature inside'. That should trap it and then...um... this spell” – he pointed to the Latin – “should send it, well, somewhere else.”

“Holy oil? Right...” Dean looked at each page as his brother followed the creature's emergence forward in time. Always reappearing; never truly dead. “Every 72 years?” Dean calculated.

“Looks like. I guess that how long it takes to get out of...wherever it gets sent. Every time it finds them it almost kills the family before they escape. The fire in 1863. The dust storm in 1935”

“So why this family? What is so important about them?”

Sam glanced over the pages again but could not find anything indicating why. “The only thing I see is maybe this page here.” He picked up a paper with a long transcript. “ 'I spent the almost 40 years on the run, looking for some way to get rid of the creature.' ”

Dean looked over his brother shoulder as he read. “You read – what is that – German?”

“Well enough,” Sam shrugged and continued. “ 'It comes to me in my dreams, asking me to say “yes”, but I don't know what will happen when I do.' ”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Dean asked.

“I don't know. That seems to be the earliest record, dated 1285. The most recent was written by Brandon's dad... last year. 'My children are all the right generation for the piper to come for them. He will have escaped by now and is probably on his way to find us. I only hope Brandon does not start having the dreams. Sara and Mike will be ok if he can't get to Brandon.' ”

“Brandon knew more than he let on. I say we go see what we can get out of the kid with force.”

“Dean we're not gonna threaten a little kid.” Sam glared down at his brother before sighing and shrugging. “But yes, we should see what he know.”

Dean smiled up at Sam.

“Gently,” Sam amended.

**– 0 –**

Finding Brandon was easier than they thought if would be. He wasn't hiding in the forest anymore. He was in the center of town watching a group of kids smashing and looting a gaming store. They flanked him, and in running from Dean, Brandon turned and ran right into a wall of Sam Winchester.

“Bob,” Sam stopped Brandon by placing a hand on his shoulder. “We know. Ok? We know what you're scared of. We just need you to fill in a few details so we can stop it.”

“You don’t know anything,” Brandon said.

“Look, Brandon-” Dean said. He was starting to get angry at the kid, but was cut off by an angry glare from Sam.

Sam’s face softened as he looked back to Brandon. “We know your family is in hiding. We know there is a creature causing all this. We just don’t know why it's following you. Or how to find it.” Sam looked over his shoulder back to the bonfire. “We know about your sister Sara over there. We know where your brother is.”

“Mike?!” Brandon's face broke at this news, his eyes filling with tears. “I was at school when this started. I should have gone right home to check on him. I didn’t think Mom and Dad would be… I didn’t know what it was until it was too late. It has Mike, doesn’t it?” Brandon sank to the ground and Sam settled beside him.

“No, nothing like that. He’s being cared for by a nurse on the other side of town. He’s safe.” Sam sat next to the boy placing an arm around his shoulder.

Dean paced impatiently behind the two. “So if you want us to stop all this, you might want to start trusting us and tell us what you know.”

Brandon looked back and forth between the brother before sighing. “My dad told me this growing up. I've heard it so many times I cold probably tell it in my sleep, but I didn't believe... I didn't think...

“It's ok, Brandon,” Sam said, reassuringly. “Just tell us the story...” 

Brandon nodded at Sam and took a deep breath.

“Let's see... the story of the Pied Piper, while embellished with rats and promises of gold, was real. A creature came in a town in Germany looking for its 'true vessel'”. He told this first part in a very rehearsed manner. “I guess children were move likely to still believe in... whatever this thing was, so he got them to, um... to “say yes.” 

Sam looked and Dean and Dean shrugged.

Brandon shrugged too when they both looked back at him. “My father is not too sure what that means either, but he is tells me all the time to just say no if it ever finds me, if it ever asks me the question He thinks it something to do with being possessed. Like a monster would need permission.”

“Yeah,” Dean said. “Weird.”

“My great, great, great, whatever, grandfather was Emil Wichterle of Hameln, Germany and he was a true vessel.” Again Brandon shrugged, to say he was just repeating the story and had no idea what this stuff meant. 

“When Emil started having dreams of the creature he was hidden away because they though he was cursed or something and didn't want to be all disgraced. Of course the creature couldn't find him and went out and somehow possessed the first willing child it could find. It ensnared all the adults, just like this.” Brandon pointed around the town and swallowed loudly. 

Sam nodded. “What happened next?”

“Um...it entertained the children with music and magic. It told that they could have a lot of fun with him, and showed them more and more flashy magic until everyone wanted to be possessed.” He rolled his eyes. 

“It tried each child, but Emil was still in hiding and the creature could not find him. It was real mad at this and killed all the children before vanishing. Then, I guess, the adults could move again, but their children were dead so they started hating that family with Emil, still alive. _My family._ And so they moved away. The thing is, the creature, the piper... over and over again, kept finding us. We moved  through France, Portugal, Italy, and many places in the Americas, we immigrated to West Alexandria, Ohio around 1935 and had not heard from the creature since.”

Brandon took a deep breath. “Have you ever heard Carlo Collodi’s story of Pinocchio? Where he turns into a donkey for playing all day and not working? That story was based off of my great grandfather’s tale to Collodi’s father. It _was_ a story of children getting used up by the piper, but he changed it a bit.

“I started having dreams a few weeks ago. My father told me this story was true. That the creature was coming for me as the oldest. I'm still not sure I believe it, but my mom comes to me and tells me that if I just say “yes”, everything will get better for me.”

When Brandon finished his story, Sam sent him back to get his sister, telling the kid he would drop them off at Laurana Salinas' house with their brother.

“Why is this kid not in hiding himself, if he knows what will happen to him?” Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. “Kids, man. But nothing’s happened to them yet, so let’s figure out a way to fix this.”

**– 0 –**

A call to Ash didn't place him any closer to figuring out the video on the phone but Ash did tell him that the signal was being broadcast from a cell tower.

“It's definitely the phone, Dean. It seems like the creature wormed its way into the software team months ago. That's what caused the jump in the time line. They still will release it on time, but when you can enthrall like that, you can walk out with as many as you want.”

“Ok. How do we stop it?”

“Well if we stop the signal, it should draw the piper to the tower to fix it. If we can get it in the ring of oil and light it, we could trap it. ”

“Ok. Let's get to the tower,” Dean said, grabbing the jar of oil. “Grab the Latin crap.”

**– 0 –**

Dean reveled in the noise of Baby’s finely tuned engine and couldn’t help but remember how carefully he had been driving with Cas this morning. He opened up the engine and drifted around a corner, safe in the knowledge that the cops weren’t going to stop him. Sam had actually put his seat belt on and was white knuckling the seat.

“Come on Sammy. Loosen up.” Dean said, laughing at his brother.

“Dean, it’s not funny.”

Dean’s phone rang and he reached to answer it, but Sam grabbed it from him. “Hey, Castiel.” A pause. “Yeah, Dean’s driving too recklessly to answer the phone right now.” Sam shot Dean another famous glare.

Dean slowed a bit and glanced over to Sam.

“We're on our way to stop this right now.” Sam continued his one-sided conversation.

Even thinking about Castiel caused Dean's mind to drift. He thought about how strong this man was to be thrown into this type of situation without breaking. Having a sibling in danger and not being able to do anything to fix it was a scenario that Dean knew well. His thoughts shifted to the actual feel of the man's hands and arms as he touched them earlier. Of the hug, where Dean had rubs the man's back and they stood perfectly content in the kitchen. Of how Castiel already felt like family... and he was worried for him.

“No, don't worry. We'll stop by after.” Sam hung up the phone and tossed it on the seat. Dean drove on to the tower, shaking his head to focus himself on the job.

**– 0 –**

As the sun came up over the horizon, Dean poured a large ring of holy oil in the parking lot near the tower, blocking access to the control panel. Sam smashed the lock on the door housing the tower controls. Inside the panel door, the power grid was surrounded by a white wispy gas. It darted about the small space, dancing away from Sam's hand almost frantically. He quickly found the main power wiring and got out his wire cutters looking to Dean. Zippo lighter in hand, Dean nodded to Sam.

Sam cut the wire and ran a distance from the tower, pulling out the banishing spell and holding on tight. The white smoke, now moved purposely, streaming off into the distance

A man suddenly appeared in the middle of the parking lot about 5 yards from Dean. Dean recognized him as Jonathan Boyd, only Boyd's eyes glowed a shocking white.

Dean gave his best defiant look to the approaching man until the man reached the spot Dean needed him at. Dean leapt from the circle, swinging his arm around to hit the open lighter on his sleeve. He dropped the flame onto the ring of oil, and watched as Boyd fell away from the fire springing up around him, his face angry and raw.

“Ok. Two questions.”

“I don't answer to Dean Winchester.”

Stunned and impressed, Dean looked to Sam with a shrug, before turning back to the creature. “You've done your homework, huh?”

The creature narrowed his eyes at Dean and didn't answer.

“Come on. I just wanna know why, after all the centuries, you possessed an adult.”

“He said yes to protect the children,” answered the creature, rolling his eyes. “He didn't know that until I am in my true vessel, I will use him up and have to entice another.”

“What is your name?” Dean asked.

The creature said nothing.

“Ok... how about this.... Sam?”

“Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco. Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco,” Sam called, the wind picking round him as the piper's throat constricted and he fell to his knees. Dean held up a hand for Sam to pause.

“Tatrasiel,” the piper croaked out. “My name is Tatrasiel.”

“What is this video signal?” Dean demanded.

Still catching its breath, the creature got to its knees and bent forward, talking to the ground. “It's how I hide from the others.”

“What others?”

The creature ignored that and continued. “I once used wards to hide, but I found a way to translate my grace into a visual signal. All who look at it actually hide part my grace within them and I can trap them if I wish.”

“Grace?” Dean thought maybe they were getting off topic. “Look, did stopping the signal snap everyone out of it or no?”

“...It did”

“Thanks. Was that so hard?” Dean gestured back to Sam.

“Aborro te ut. Angelum omnium obsequendum. Domine expuet.”

The creature thrashed around the circle, throwing itself into the wall of its invisible cage. A blinding white light shown from its eyes and mouth.

“Domine expuet. Deum adempiremus veritas. Audi-.” Sam stopped.

Looking around quickly to Sam to be sure he wasn't hurt, Dean saw that Castiel had arrived in the field with a tall man in a suit, balding and wearing a cocky smile. They stood just behind Sam. Castiel had his hand on Sam's shoulder.

“Sam, stop,” Castiel called, his mannerisms very different from the man they had left a few hours ago.

Gone was all emotion from his face as he stretched his hand out to a tree. Flicking his hand back towards Tatrasiel, the tree ripped from the ground and broke the ring of fire with its trunk. He didn't even look over at Dean as he went about his task, climbing across the tree with and inhuman quickness that left Dean shaking his head as he watched.

A long silver blade dropped from the Castiel's coat sleeve into his hand and quickly flashed into the chest of Jonathan Boyd. Boyd's entire body seem to glow white and increase in intensity as Castiel moved back outside the fire. Boyd fell to the ground and Dean had to cover his eyes from a blinding light. When he could see again, Castiel was gone, leaving only the tall man and the body of Jonathan Boyd.As Dean moved in closer with his brother, he saw black burns on the ground beneath Boyd in the shape of giant wings.

“Where's Cas?”

“Castiel has been returned to his garrison.”

Dean drew a knife from his coat and charged at the man only to have the blade grow hot in his hand. He threw it to the ground, stopping in his tracks. Sam moved to back Dean up, drawing his gun. That's one thing Dean could always count on. It could be the frickin' apocalypse and Sam would be by his side. Together they faced this man, glaring at him.

“What are you?” Dean and Sam asked at the same time.

“Zachariah. I'm an angel.”

“Bull shit,” Dean called.

“Tatrasiel,” Zachariah said, gesturing to the man in the ground, “had been a...pain...for so many years. I would thank you for revealing him, but...I won't. We would have gotten to him eventually. No one hides from Heaven forever.”

“Heaven?” Sam asked.

“He was good – I'll give him that.” Zachariah only looked at Dean. What was with everyone and ignoring questions today? “Found his way through Heaven undetected too many times to count. See, when you are sent back to Heaven, you are sent _deep_.”

“Castiel was sent in to deal with Tatrasiel and since you were already on your way here, he was to get to know you so he would understand what we will be dealing with in the future.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means that once Castiel has made a full report on you Dean Winchester, he will not remember today.”

“You can't do that.”

“I can. I only tell you this because you won't remember either.”

Zachariah moved towards them both, two fingers out, reaching slowly towards Sam's forehead. Dean stepped in front of Sam and raised his pistol at the angel. When Zachariah only smirked and continued advancing, Dean and Sam fired into the other man's chest. They emptied their clips into the being with no affect but another cocky smile springing to his lips. They both were suddenly thrown through the air, their backs hitting the building beneath the tower, and held there by an invisible force. The angel stopped and regarded them with a look of contempt.

“I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted a taste of what we have to look forward to. I don't know how it will come to pass, but you will be needed, Dean Winchester.”

The angel advanced, closer now.

“We will meet again,” Zachariah smirked, “Not that _you'll_ remember.”

Dean's snarky comeback died in his throat as Zachariah's fingers finally met Sam's forehead and he vanished. Dean's startled look turned to an angry glare as the Zachariah's hand turned towards him.

All he managed to get out was an angry “What did you do to my-” before he found himself startled awake. His eyes frantically searched the room from the bed he was on, before they settled on Sam in the bed next to him, softly snoring.

He tried to catch his breath as he watched his brother, face down on the pillow, slowly breathing in and out. Lying back down, he tried to remember what he had been dreaming about, but it was slipping away. He felt silly now. What reason did he have for needing to get to Sam in such a hurry? Closing his eyes again and mimicking Sam's breathing, he fell back to sleep instantly.

He awoke in the morning when a pillow hit him in the head.

“What, are ya gonna sleep all day? This case isn't gonna solve itself.” Sam was standing over Dean when he turned, squinting into the daylight.

“Case?” He blinked and rubbed his eyes as he tried to wake up enough to remember what they were working on last night.

“The blood draining?” Sam prompted. He then pointed to a coffee cup on the table before hitting Dean's foot. “On the road in 10,” he said before closing the bathroom door behind him.

Dean groaned and rolled over, planting his feet on the cold floor before standing. Right, the blood draining case, Dean thought. He remembered they didn't get much accomplished yesterday and had just laid low with after he had attached his new plates. He remembered getting his plates from some... guy. Dean lowered his eyebrows in confusion. He tried to remember the man who had helped him yesterday, but the memory was almost blurry. He moved to the table, drinking the lukewarm coffee and shuffling through the papers lying out. Sam came out of the bathroom and Dean moved in there to clean himself up a bit. When he was finished, Sam had everything packed up and was leaning on the wall by the door.

“To Joliet?” Dean said, his eyebrow flicking upwards as he moved to the door, grabbing his bag. Sam smiled and shook his head, following.

**– 0 –**

Zachariah, Castiel, and Hannah watched from the edge of the parking lot, unseen, as the Impala with the Ohio plates pulled away. Castiel and Hannah fully restored in their powers and memories. The implanted memories of being human were gone. For Castiel, duty and obedience were top priority again, and the reason he had agreed to the implant in the first place.

“Now you see how these _Winchesters_ work together?” Zachariah spoke up.

“Yes,” Hannah answered without emotion, “And I apologize for getting trapped by Tatrasiel.”

Zachariah scoffed next to Castiel, “Don't apologize. Do better.”

Hannah inclined her head in obedience.

“Michael can't know about this.”

“Of course,” Hannah said, Castiel nodding.

“Report for reeducation,” said Zachariah.

Hannah immediately flew away, having been given an order.

“...and Castiel?”

“Yes?” Castiel turned to his superior.

“Be sure to wipe your vessel before you return him.”

“Of course.” A flutter of wings and Castiel was back in Pontiac, Illinois, returning Jimmy to his family with no memory of the last few days, writing it off as a business trip. Castiel would need him again and soon, but Cas also knew that he himself would not remember any of this. To both of them the next meeting would be the first meeting and tests of trust again.

Now he approached a door not knowing what he would find behind it, and just before he reached for the handle he thought, _Dean_ , and entered the room with a sigh.

“Hello again, Castiel. I'm Naomi.”


End file.
